Problem is, the small business community thinks Rick is dead wrong. Rick thinks that everyone else is sailing into the paradise of Romneycare, while the small business community thinks we in Massachusetts are about to enter the purgatory of Obamatax. The issue is this: under the law of federal pre emption, federal law supplants state law, unless a waiver is issued. Obamatax, which seems to be of the same structure of Romneycare, would pre empt Romneycare, unless a waiver was granted from specific provisions of Obamatax. The insurance industry seems to think that Romneycare is being pre empted by Obamatax, and small business owners are being warned to expect a potential double digit inflation of premiums next year. Small business owners have been demanding answers from the state and insurance regulators trying to get a straight answer to a straight question: which regime applies next year? Rick and I have discussed this issue, he’s seen a letter from the small business community trying to get an answer to this question.

It may take a court to sort this out, but I think at the moment Rick’s certainty about all of this is not generally shared by those who will be bearing the cost.

Problem is, the small business community thinks Rick is dead wrong. Rick thinks that everyone else is sailing into the paradise of Romneycare, while the small business community thinks we in Massachusetts are about to enter the purgatory of Obamatax. The issue is this: under the law of federal pre emption, federal law supplants state law, unless a waiver is issued. Obamatax, which seems to be of the same structure of Romneycare, would pre empt Romneycare, unless a waiver was granted from specific provisions of Obamatax. The insurance industry seems to think that Romneycare is being pre empted by Obamatax, and small business owners are being warned to expect a potential double digit inflation of premiums next year. Small business owners have been demanding answers from the state and insurance regulators trying to get a straight answer to a straight question: which regime applies next year? Rick and I have discussed this issue, he’s seen a letter from the small business community trying to get an answer to this question.

It may take a court to sort this out, but I think at the moment Rick’s certainty about all of this is not generally shared by those who will be bearing the cost.